Minister Speeches 2020 - 2015
It is an honour and pleasure for me to be speaking at the 13th Moshito Music Conference and Exhibition and I would like to extend a warm welcome and express my appreciation to all of you who are here to attend the event.
The cultural boycott against South Africa as backlash against the colonial apartheid state is an apt illustration about the power of the arts as an important ingredient in conjuring human solidarity.
The South African Music Awards are a celebration of excellence, creativity, innovation and development. While the Awards do reward individual talent, they are also a celebration of the strength and robustness of the South African music industry as a whole, demonstrating our world class abilities.
In their honour this Memorial was built by the democratic government. To perpetuate the memory of these selfless youth and the legacy they provided the nation this day and month have been rededicated to the Youth of South Africa as Youth Day and Month.
South Africa’s freedom from apartheid in 1994 was achieved through national and global efforts all merged in the quest and belief in the dignity of humanity; human freedom; and an equitable and just society.
Our country has a lot of its citizens who have amputed souls, who cannot be noticed through the naked eye. The reason for their amputation is racism.
Twenty years ago in this very house, on the 8th May 1996, with great excitement and pride, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa was adopted.
We meet here today on what is and surely must be described as a historical occasion – at the opening of the two day seminar that commences today, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the African World Heritage Fund.
We are pleased that the theme for 2016 is “Imagine” as this takes us into a new space and time of planning for the future and re-inventing the SAFTAS after its first ten years of existence.
Hence there is also a new look for the awards, that pays homage to the one thing that film and television professionals yearn for - the Golden Horn.
Today South Africa marks the launch of the 2015 Reconciliation Month under the theme, “Bridging the Divide: Building a Common South African Nationhood towards a national developmental state.”